This sociological reading of the kabbalistic ideas of the early modern period suggests that they gained acceptance because they responded to the needs of contemporary Jewish society. Although they were presented as continuing a tradition, their goal was reformation: few aspects of Jewish lifewere not changed in consequence. This broadly based and innovative study challenges accepted ideas on the origins of Jewish modernity, and also shows how Counter-Reformation Catholicism affected these developments. The Hebrew edition of the book was awarded the Goren-Gottstein Prize for the BestBook in Jewish Thought 2010-2012 | Kabbalah and Jewish Modernity by Roni Weinstein, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters